“I want all stories to be Anansi-stories!” Anansi shouted.
“Agreed,” said God, “provided you bring me Bees in a calabash, alive, then Snake, then Leopard.”
Anansi grabbed a calabash and went to where the Bees lived. He sat on the ground, shaking his head. “Yes!” he shouted. “No? Yes! No?”
“What’s wrong?” asked the Bees.
“God says no, you cannot all fit into this calabash,” said Anansi, “but I say yes, you can!”
“Yes!” buzzed the Bees. “Yes, we can!” Then they flew into the calabash.
Anansi sealed the calabash and brought it to God.
“Now bring Snake!” said God.
[a story from Ghana]
Inspired by: West African Folktales by William H. Barker and Cecilia Sinclair.
Notes: This is from the story "How We Got the Name Spider Tales." You can see what happens next in: Anansi and Snake.
Here is an illustration by Cecilia Sinclair, showing Anansi in human form as he traps the bees in the calabash:
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